Basic Biographical Details

Name:

William Smith II

Designation:

Architect

Born:

16 September 1817

Died:

22 December 1891

Bio Notes:

William Smith II was the fourth of John Smith and Margaret Grant's eight children, born 16 September 1817. He was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School and at Marischal College where he graduated MA. During that period he studied sketching and watercolour under James Giles. Thereafter he was articled to his father, working alongside Robert Kerr, the future Professor of Architecture at King's College in London. Smith subsequently spent eighteen months in London as assistant to Thomas Leverton Donaldson in whose office he had the opportunity to study the extensive library and classical antiquities that the latter had collected. He may have attended Donaldson's classes at University College as he was admitted ARIBA on 25 July 1842, his proposers being Donaldson, Samuel Angell and George Bailey. At that date he appears to have been back in Aberdeen, but shortly thereafter he embarked on a tour of Italy and of Greece which lasted almost two years. He returned to his father's office as senior assistant and became his partner in 1845. This enabled him to marry on 2 July 1846 Mary Blaikie, born 27 September 1826 and one of the five children of Dr Patrick Blaikie RN who came of a prominent family of ironmasters in Aberdeen, Blaikie Brothers. Family photographs show that she remained a beautiful woman in middle age. Smith's father having gone into semi-retirement at Rosebank, they set up house at 142 King Street.

William Smith's first major commission was Trinity Hall, Union Street, Aberdeen, in 1846. Its adaptation of neo-Tudor to granite attracted the attention of the Prince Consort who in 1848 commissioned J & W Smith to reconstruct and enlarge old Balmoral Castle to which the elder Smith had built an addition in 1834-39. That commission did not proceed beyond the sketch plan stage but when the commission extended to a completely new house in 1852 their appointment attracted the attention of William Burn. Recent research by Paul Bradley has shown that Burn obtained an interview with the Prince Consort, probably to complain that the elder Smith had unprofessionally displaced him at Robert Gordon's College and at Fintray and had plagiarised his designs at Menie and elsewhere. Smith nevertheless retained the confidence of the Prince Consort and the construction of the castle in 1853-59 was followed by other buildings on the estate. By 1852 he had also officially succeeded to his father's post as Superintendent of the Town's Works, having taken on increasing amounts of work in an unofficial capacity during his father's latter years of declining health.

William Smith and Mary Blaikie had sixteen children. All eight of their surviving children were sent to the University of Aberdeen. Only the eldest, John, born 5 July 1847 became an architect. John Smith II is said to have been of 'gentle disposition and retiring habits' and 'not a man of robust frame…his health was on the whole delicate'. He married Helen Elsmie Hall, daughter of John Hall, merchant and sister of the prominent Aberdeen advocate Harvey Hall, and was taken into partnership in or about 1880, the practice title becoming W & J Smith. Like William and Mary Smith before them, John and his wife set up house at 142 Great King Street. They had three sons and a surviving daughter who were aged 8, 6, 4 and 2 when John Smith died suddenly on 11 April 1887 after a long period of declining health, leaving 'absolutely no money at all'. When they grew up all three sons entered bank service since a university education could not be afforded, thus bringing the Smith dynasty of architects to a close. Shortly after John's death William Smith merged his practice with that of his former pupil William Kelly, the practice name now becoming W & J Smith & Kelly.

This partnership was dissolved just before William Smith died at 142 King Street on 22 December 1891, saddened not only by the death of his son but also by that of his wife who had predeceased him on 21 January 1883. During his short final illness he was cared for by his son Dr Patrick Blaikie Smith, later of San Remo. His moveable estate was a surprisingly modest £1026 5s 8d, although he may have owned some property beyond the houses and yard in King Street. In politics he was described as being conservative and he 'shrank from publicity…present day methods of gaining popularity were foreign to his disposition.' Principal Cooper described him as having a 'high bred courtesy' and 'a reticence to the point of shyness'. It was perhaps these qualities which lost him the commission for Aberdeen Sheriff Court in the limited competition of 1861 set up between himself, James Matthews and the Edinburgh practice of Peddie & Kinnear. That project subsequently grew into that for Aberdeen Municipal Buildings and was the major disappointment of his career. His interests outwith architecture were music, children and animals. Dogs figure importantly in family photographs and either he or his son of the same name appears to have been the author of a book entitled 'The uses and abuses of domestic animals'. None of his daughters married and they were said to have led a somewhat impoverished existence after his death, dependent on the support of their surviving brothers, all of whom had successful careers.

Private and Business Addresses

The following private or business addresses are associated with this architect:

Address

Type

Date from

Date to

Notes

142, King Street, Aberdeen, Scotland

Private

1846

1891

Employment and Training

Employers

The following individuals or organisations employed or trained this architect (click on an item to view details):